Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 8391

Loman, Lausa should do well in new ‘homes,’ says analyst

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FILIPINO fighters Stephen Loman and Jenel Lausa are now with new mixed martial arts (MMA) companies and should do well in them, said a local combat sports analyst.

Mr. Loman (14-2) recently signed with ONE Championship after four years with Bahrain-based Brave Combat Federation (CF) where he was an undefeated bantamweight champion. Mr. Lausa (7-5), meanwhile, is now with Brave after parlaying his wares in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for two years until 2018 and previous to that in Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC).

Both men cited taking on new challenges and a chance to further their MMA game as reasons for their decision to partner with their new “homes.”

For combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano, given the reasons they have and the places they landed at, Messrs. Loman and Lausa did well in their decisions.

“Most see it (decision) as a ‘win some, lose some’ scenario. But it’s more of making the most out of the opportunity. The landscape of MMA today has become an even playing field. You got the UFC in the West, along with PFL (Professional Fighters League) and Bellator. In the East, you got ONE Championship. In the Middle, Brave CF is carrying the load to bring the sport of MMA to greater heights in their territory. So it’s actually a win-win situation, especially for Philippine MMA,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“I don’t have doubts that these two will perform to the best of their abilities in their respective promotions. Both men are former champions and have achieved the pinnacle of success. Loman was a top guy of Brave CF for a long time. Jenel was a flyweight champion in PXC and made it to the UFC. If they do flourish in their new homes, it just goes to show the quality of competition that they went through in order to be at the top of their game,” he added.

“The Sniper” Loman, fighting out of Baguio’s Team Lakay, is set to make his ONE Championship debut next month against top-ranked bantamweight fighter and former UFC campaigner John “Hands of Stone” Lineker.

It is a very challenging debut fight, said Mr. Icasiano, but can pay huge dividends for Mr. Loman if he emerges on top.

“It’s definitely a high-risk, high-reward kind of fight for Loman. He is facing one of the hardest hitters in the sport and one of the best bantamweights today. If he wins, I truly believe a contract for a title shot will be waiting in his dressing room,” said Mr. Icasiano.

The Loman-Lineker fight is part of “ONE on TNT IV” on April 28 which will air on prime-time television in the United States.

“The Demolition Man” Lausa, for his part, is to make his Brave debut this week at “Brave CF 47: Asian Domination” on March 11 in Bahrain where he will face Afghan Rahmatullah Yousufzai.

Apart from his first fight in Brave, the contest also marks the return to MMA of Mr. Lausa after three years away from action.

“Jenel is best suited for mixed martial arts, and I truly believe that he made the right decision to return to the sport after nearly three years of exclusively competing in boxing. He is pitted against a hungry upstart from Afghanistan. It’s an ideal matchup for Jenel in order to gauge where he is at right now in his MMA game,” Mr. Icasiano said.

Antetokounmpo fuels Team LeBron in All-Star romp

GIANNIS Antetokounmpo made all 16 of his shots in a historic 35-point performance on Sunday night that propelled Team LeBron to a 170-150 victory over Team Durant in the NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta.

After earlier capturing the NBA 3-Point Contest, Stephen Curry bombed in six 3-pointers in the first half and eight in all, totaling 28 points for Team LeBron, which won each of the first three quarters en route to a 146-125 lead that it massaged into the winning margin.

Each team lost a player when it was announced earlier in the day that Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons would not be allowed to play due to COVID tracing. Each had gotten a haircut on Saturday from a barber who subsequently tested positive.

20-year-old Zion Williamson replaced Embiid in the Team Durant starting lineup, becoming the fourth-youngest starter in NBA history.

The win was the fourth in a row for the team selected by LeBron James under a revised roster dispersal that started in 2018. James played just 13 minutes in the first half before sitting out the entire second half with the game relatively in hand.

Down 146-125 after three periods, the closest Team Durant got in the fourth quarter was 15.

Durant did not play in the game because of a hamstring injury.

Team LeBron took command of the game with a 27-8 flurry over the final 3:54 of the second quarter.

Damian Lillard contributed 11 points, Curry seven, Antetokounmpo five and Chris Paul four to go with five assists as they did all the scoring in a burst that turned a one-point lead into a 100-80 half time advantage.

Antetokounmpo’s 16-for-16 game doubled the previous All-Star record of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Hal Greer, who made all eight of his shots in the 1968 in-season classic.

For his effort, Antetokounmpo, who was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers, was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Lillard finished with 32 points, Jaylen Brown 22, and Paul George 17 for Team LeBron. Paul added team-highs in assists with 16 and rebounds with eight. — Reuters

Golfer Yuka Saso among to be feted at the PSA virtual awards

GOLFER YUKA SASO is the PSA Athlete of the Year for 2020.

ONE of the bright lights for Philippine sports during these trying times, Filipino golfer Yuka Saso will be one of personalities to be honored by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) in its annual awards ceremonies later this month.

Ms. Saso, 19, performed well in her professional debut year in 2020 just as the sporting world was trying to grapple with the effects brought about by the pandemic.

And for that she is the PSA’s Athlete of the Year.

The Asian Games double gold medalist won two straight titles in the rich Japan LPGA in 2020 and had a strong 13th place finish in the US Open in her first crack at a major LPGA championship later in the year.

It will be Ms. Saso’s second PSA Athlete of the Year award in the last three years, but first time as an individual awardee as she previously shared the accolade with fellow golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go, along with weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, during the 2018 edition of the annual event following their gold medal romp in the Jakarta Asiad.

Entering 2021, the Filipina golfer with a Japanese descent ranked 45th in the world and had a total of P50 million in earnings during her rookie season.

Aside from the Athlete of the Year, the PSA will likewise hand out its regular awards such as the Executive of the Year, President’s Award, National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Major honorees in various sports as well as citations and recognitions are likewise included in the honor roll list.

With the coronavirus still a going concern, this year’s PSA Awards Night on March 27 will be done virtually from the TV5 Media Center. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Tim Cone leads PBA Press Corps award winners

BARANGAY GINEBRA COACH TIM CONE was the recipient of the Outstanding Coach of the Bubble award in the virtual special awards night of the PBA Press Corps on Sunday. — PBA IMAGES

THE virtual special awards night of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Press Corps was successfully held on Sunday with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings coach Tim Cone leading the awardees.

Given by the media covering the local professional basketball league, the awards serve to recognize outstanding performers in various categories for each PBA season.

This year’s proceedings were a double celebration as recognized as well were awardees for 2019 who did not get their own awarding ceremony last year because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Cone steered the Kings to a historic Philippine Cup championship held under a first-ever “bubble” setup in Clark, Pampanga, and was the recipient of the Outstanding Coach of the Bubble award.

Through his stewardship, the Kings outlasted the competition in the three-month tournament, the lone staged by the league because of limitations presented by the pandemic.

It was the 13th title of the Kings in franchise history while it was the 23rd for Mr. Cone, and his fifth championship with Barangay Ginebra.

While he felt honored to be given the award, Mr. Cone also took time to praise fellow coach Topex Robinson of Phoenix Super LPG who the former felt did a good job as well during the bubble.

“Topex did a tremendous job in the bubble coaching. I just want to acknowledge him and share this award with him,” said Mr. Cone in his acceptance speech.

Mr. Robinson and the Fuel Masters had a great run in the bubble, coming within a win away of barging into their first-ever finals appearance.

Also feted was PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial.

He was given the Mr. Executive Award in recognition of his leadership in steering the league in uncharted waters amid the pandemic en route to the successful staging of the bubble.

The Bubble President’s Award, meanwhile, was given to all the 12 PBA teams for their sacrifices and cooperation in ensuring the Philippine Cup bubble succeeded.

The other bubble awardees were Phoenix’s Justin Chua (Top Bubble D-Fender). He was joined in the All-Bubble D-Fenders by former teammate Calvin Abueva (now of Magnolia), Chris Ross (San Miguel), Mark Barroca (Magnolia), and Christian Standhardinger (formerly of NorthPort now of Barangay Ginebra).

Phoenix’s RJ Jazul was Mr. Quality Minutes, scoring champ was CJ Perez (formerly of Terrafirma and now with San Miguel), the Barangay Ginebra-Meralco Game 5 semis was Game of the Bubble, and Aaron Black (Meralco), Arvin Tolentino (Barangay Ginebra), Roosevelt Adams (Terrafirma), Barkley Ebona (Alaska), and Renzo Subido (NorthPort) made up the All-Rookie Team.

Meanwhile, Leo Austria, coach of San Miguel, led the honor roll for 2019 awardees as coach of the year.

Joining him are PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas (Executive of the Year), Bulakan, Bulacan Mayor and former league MVP Vergel Meneses (President’s Award), Sean Anthony (Defensive Player of the Year), Terrence Romeo (Mr. Quality Minutes), June Mar Fajardo (Order of Merit), and Mr. Perez (Scoring Champion).

The rest of the 2019 honorees are NorthPort vs. NLEX (Game of the Season); Mr. Perez, Robert Bolick, Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., Javee Mocon, and Abu Tratter (All-Rookie Team); Kiefer Ravena, Mr. Standhardinger, Beau Belga, Vic Manuel, Arwind Santos, and coach Yeng Guiao (All-Interview Team); and PBA D-League Finals MVP Thirdy Ravena (Aspirants’ Cup) and Hesed Gabo (Foundation Cup). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PSC Summit 2021 talks sports science and success

SPORTS science as key to success in the field will be the center of discussion in the sixth session of the National Sports Summit 2021 on Thursday, March 11.

Dr. Jose Raul Canlas, sole Filipino member of the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) Medical Commission, leads the session which will tackle the fundamental role of sports science in harnessing elite talent and potential of the athletes.

The doctor is a decorated practitioner in the field of orthopedics and served for consecutive editions of the World Cup as part of its medical team. He also currently heads the United Philippine Surfing Association, the national sporting body for surfing.

“We are very honored to have a world-class Filipino doctor impart knowledge to our participating athletes, coaches, sports educators, and local government units, in this area (sports science) where we have a lot to develop as a sporting nation,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez of Dr. Canlas gracing the virtual national summit.

The subject on sports science is the second of three topics to be touched on in the second phase of the conference.

Originally set to take place last year until the coronavirus pandemic forced it to be deferred and reconfigured, the summit has taken the form of a series of weekly conference-type online sessions hosted by the PSC via Zoom, running until May this year.

The summit is aimed at taking insights of different sports stakeholders and using those as foundations in crafting a sustainable and workable short to long-term plan for Philippine sports.

The PSC said all data gathered from the web series will be processed and studied to create a new set of resolutions to be presented to sports leaders for action. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pistons star forward Blake Griffin agrees to deal with Brooklyn Nets

SIX-TIME All-Star forward Blake Griffin has agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for the remainder of this season, ESPN reported on Sunday night.

The agreement comes two days after Griffin agreed to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons. A former star with the Los Angeles Clippers who turns 32 on March 16, Griffin averaged 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 31.3 minutes in 20 starts with Detroit this season.

The Nets are expected to use Griffin off the bench — a role he has never had during his 11-year NBA career.

Brooklyn is hoping to make a run at the NBA title behind the star trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. Griffin’s former Los Angeles teammate DeAndre Jordan also is on the Nets.

Griffin has career averages of 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 642 games. He spent his first 7 1/2 seasons with the Clippers and parts of the last four campaigns with Detroit. — Reuters

Laporta elected FC Barcelona’s president, sends message to Messi

BARCELONA — Barcelona members elected Joan Laporta as club president on Sunday, turning to the man who oversaw one of their most successful periods to lead them out of an institutional and financial crisis.

Laporta, who was Barça president between 2003 and 2010, won a resounding 54.28% of total votes, while Victor Font came second with 29.99% and Toni Freixa was third with 8.58%.

Laporta, 58, succeeds Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned as president in October to avoid facing a vote of no confidence from members who turned on him after Lionel Messi tried to leave the club last August and the team were beaten 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Messi was among several Barça players to vote in the election a day after winning 2-0 at Osasuna to go second in La Liga.

Barça said 51,765 out of 109,531 eligible members had voted in the election, which was postponed from January due to coronavirus restrictions in Catalonia. A total of 30,184 people voted for Laporta.

Laporta celebrated his victory by singing the club’s anthem with his campaign team and sipping champagne before giving his victory speech, in which he gave a special mention to captain and all-time top scorer Messi, who has less than four months left on his contract with Barça.

“Twenty years ago a little boy called Leo Messi made his debut with Barça’s youth team. Seeing the best player in the world come out to vote today is a clear sign of what we keep saying. Leo loves Barça,” Laporta said.

“The best player in the world loves Barça and I hope that is a sign that he will stay at Barcelona, which is what we all want.”

HUGE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
Laporta takes over a club with huge financial problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic eliminating ticket revenue and badly hitting merchandising income.

Barça’s last accounts showed a gross debt of more than €1.4 billion ($1.67 billion) with a net debt of €488 million. The club agreed a temporary player pay-cut last year while it had to delay payments to players in December.

Yet things are looking up on the pitch, with Ronald Koeman’s side winning 13 of their last 16 league games and reaching the Copa del Rey final.

Laporta’s first match in his second spell as president is Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg away to Paris St. Germain, with Barça trailing 4-1 in the tie.

He added: “We’re off to Paris to stage a comeback.”

Laporta was first elected in 2003 and presided over a golden period in the club’s history which witnessed four La Liga titles and two Champions League triumphs.

He ran in the 2015 elections, but was emphatically beaten by incumbent Bartomeu.

Bartomeu was arrested last Monday in a Catalan police probe related to allegations of improper management and business corruption which also saw the club’s Camp Nou offices raided. He has not commented on his arrest and made use of his right not to give a statement in court. — Reuters

Anfernee Simons, Stephen Curry, Domantas Sabonis win All-Star competitions

ANFERNEE Simons kissed good-bye the competition in the NBA Slam Dunk competition Sunday night, nearly locking lips with the rim on a grand finale that was deemed good enough to edge Obi Toppin for the 2021 crown as the league’s top dunker during the annual All-Star festivities in Atlanta.

The 21-year-old from the Portland Trail Blazers shared the All-Star Game undercard spotlight with Stephen Curry, who needed to make his last shot to edge Mike Conley in the 3-Point Contest, and Domantas Sabonis, who won a battle of big men over Nikola Vučević for the Skills Challenge crown.

After winning Round 1 of the three-man competition with 95 points, one more than New York Knicks rookie Toppin, the two were allowed just one more dunk to determine the 2021 champion.

Toppin, who had dunked over his father, Obadiah, and teammate Julius Randle to eliminate Cassius Stanley in the first round, completed his finals dunk first, setting the stage for Simons to do better.

He did, jumping high enough so that his puckered lips nearly came in contact with the rim as he slammed the ball through the hoop.

In a new scoring system, Simons was deemed to have performed the best dunk in the finals by three judges, while the other two opted for Toppin.

Simons had the highest scoring dunk among two attempts apiece in the first round, scoring a 49 on his second try after being awarded a 46 on his first.

Toppin scored 48 and 46 for a 94 total, one fewer than Simons but easily enough to beat out the Indiana Pacers’ Stanley (44, 37) for the second spot in the finals.

As a concession to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 3-point and skills competition were held immediately before the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday instead of one day prior. The slam dunk contest was scheduled for halftime of the All-Star Game.

The NBA’s leader in total 3-pointers this season with 169, Curry watched as fellow finalists Jayson Tatum put up 17 points, while Conley, the NBA’s reigning H-O-R-S-E competition champ, had 27. It set the stage for the 2015 3-point champion, who had dominated the earlier first round.

Curry was four points behind when he arrived at his last rack of five balls, then made three of four to get within one point before hoisting the red-white-and-blue two-point ball through the hoop just before time ran out to finish with 28.

The Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield used the same final-shot heroics to win last year’s championship.

Curry joined Jason Kapono, Peja Stojaković, Jeff Hornacek and Mark Price as two-time champs in the distance-shooting event. Craig Hodges and Larry Bird won three each.

Curry is one of two Golden State Warriors ever to win the title, with teammate Klay Thompson winning in 2016. Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played most of his career for the Chicago Bulls, was the 1997 winner.

Shooting last, Curry dominated the first round, running up 31 points to lead Conley (28) and Tatum (25) into the three-man finals.

Zach LaVine (22), Donovan Mitchell (22) and Jaylen Brown (17) were eliminated in the first round.

A runner-up to Bam Adebayo last year, Sabonis defeated Julius Randle, Luka Dončić and Vučević en route to the Skills Challenge crown.

The victory was the fourth in the last six years for a big man, with the 6-foot-11 Indiana Pacers center joining Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Adebayo among recent winners.

Sabonis, who missed his last eight 3-point shots for the Pacers leading into the All-Star break, needed just one shot to cap first- and second-round wins over Randle and Dončić.

After Vučević had eliminated Robert Covington and Chris Paul, he got a shot at the title but missed his first 3-point attempt in the finals against Sabonis.

The Pacers big man got off four quick attempts, with his fourth finally going through the hoop as Vučević was launching his third try.

Paul and Dončić, the co-favorites in the event, received first-round byes. But neither was able to take advantage, each falling in the semifinals in their first run through the dribbling, passing and shooting course. — Reuters

Rare Kobe Bryant rookie card sells for $1.795 million

A FLAWLESS Kobe Bryant rookie card, considered “one of the rarest in existence,” according to Goldin Auctions, has sold to an anonymous buyer for $1.795 million.

The Topps trading card is one of just two in the world considered to be in “black label pristine condition,” the auction house said, and is the most expensive Kobe Bryant card ever sold.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) champion died a little over a year ago in a helicopter crash alongside his daughter and seven others at the age of 41, shocking the world of sport and sending fans of the Los Angeles Lakers star into mourning.

“The fact that it sold for the final auction price of $1.795 million, the all-time record for any Kobe Bryant card, speaks to just how beloved he was around the world,” said Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin.

The 18-time NBA All-Star retired from the league in 2016 after one of the most decorated careers in basketball history, and is the NBA’s fourth all-time leading scorer.

Basketball rookie cards, which are often coveted by collectors, are trading cards that are the first to feature an athlete after they reach the professional ranks. — Reuters

Moneybees opens three crypto exchange outlets

Moneybees, a cryptocurrency over-the-counter (OTC) service in the Philippines, opened three new outlets in February in the Trinoma, Glorietta, and Okada branches of Tivoli Money Exchange, a money changer service. 

“With the rising demand for cryptocurrency trading and investment, we aim to facilitate P2 billion worth of transaction volume in 2021. To serve more customers, we’re also looking at opening more outlets in malls around the Philippines and partnering with major market players in the remittance and money exchange industry. We target to open 100 outlets by the end of the year,” said Paulo E. Del Puerto, Moneybees chief executive officer, in a statement. 

Its other outlets are Monteal Money Changer in Venice Grand Canal Mall, Psulit Money Changer in Intrepid Plaza, Willyn Villarica Jewelry in Market Market, and Erus Maerd Pawnshop and Money Exchange in Resorts World Manila. 

In an interview with BusinessWorld, he added that more institutions will embrace cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and blockchain by adding them as part of their assets or using them as part of their technology stack.

“We will see some big companies supporting or even issuing out their own cryptocurrencies,” Mr. Del Puerto said. “This, in turn, can give the general public more access and more confidence in cryptocurrency, making it more acceptable.”

Founded in 2017, the local company provides the technology to make the exchange between currencies and digital currencies accessible to government-licensed money changers with physical outlets. This technology makes it possible for money changers to accept and facilitate cryptocurrency transactions without the risk of market volatility.

Almost all cryptocurrency users with Binance, Bitmex, and other exchange wallets are supported by the platform. Users can transact as much as P5 million in one day. They can also cash out their trading gains from exchanges that don’t have peso cashouts like Binance, Bittrex, and Bitstamp. 

The most popular cryptocurrencies in the Philippines are Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to Moneybees, with Bitcoin accounting for the most transactions on its platform.  

Moneybees is registered with the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as a remittance agent with Virtual Currency Exchange (VCE) service. — Patricia B. Mirasol

White House cites ‘active threat,’ urges action despite Microsoft patch

Image via Microsoft/Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The White House on Sunday urged computer network operators to take further steps to gauge whether their systems were targeted amid a hack of Microsoft Corp.’s Outlook email program, saying a recent software patch still left serious vulnerabilities.

“This is an active threat still developing and we urge network operators to take it very seriously,” a White House official said, adding that top US security officials were working to decide what next steps to take following the breach.

CNN on Sunday separately reported the Biden administration was forming a task force to address the hack. The White House official, in a statement, said the administration was making “a whole of government response.”

While Microsoft released a patch last week to shore up flaws in its email software, the remedy still leaves open a so-called back door that can allow access to compromised servers and perpetuating further attacks by others.

“We can’t stress enough that patching and mitigation is not remediation if the servers have already been compromised, and it is essential that any organization with a vulnerable server take measures to determine if they were already targeted,” the White House official said.

Already, a source told Reuters more than 20,000 US organizations had been compromised by the hack, which Microsoft has blamed on China, although Beijing denies any role.

The back channels for remote access can impact credit unions, town governments, and small businesses, and have left US officials scrambling to reach victims, with the FBI on Sunday urging them to contact the law enforcement agency.

Those affected appear to host Web versions of Microsoft’s email program Outlook on their own machines instead of cloud providers, possibly sparing many major companies and federal government agencies, records from the investigation suggest.

A Microsoft representative on Sunday said it was working with the government and others to help guide customers, and the company urged impacted clients to apply software updates as soon as possible.

Neither the company nor the White House has specified the scale of the hack. Microsoft initially said it was limited, but the White House last week expressed concern about the potential for “a large number of victims.”

So far, only a small percentage of infected networks have been compromised through the back door, the source previously told Reuters, but more attacks are expected. —  Jeff Mason/Reuters

The COVID/Brexit cocktail: UK lost market share in US, Germany and China — report

LONDON — The United Kingdom lost market share in the United States, Germany, and China during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic due to global trade chaos, Brexit, and poor productivity, according to new research published on Monday.

The United Kingdom performed particularly badly due to a long-term stagnation in productivity growth, according to the report by Aston University’s Lloyd’s Banking Group Centre for Business Prosperity.

While all countries grappled with the tumult of COVID-19, the United Kingdom lost market share in its biggest export markets—the United States and Germany, the research showed.

“In some key export destinations—Germany, the UK and China—the UK seems to have suffered a sharper decline, experienced a slower recovery, and seen its global competitiveness dwindle,” the report said.

“The UK’s decline in exports to the US appeared the sharpest in both absolute and relative terms and the most prolonged among the major European countries (except for France).”

Between 2017 and 2019, the UK increased total exports to Germany by 8.5%—less than the export growth achieved by Italy(12%), the Netherlands (14%) and Spain (20%), as well as the United States (24%).

“This to some extent paints a picture of slowing UK exports to Germany following the 2016 Brexit referendum, which may indicate some decoupling between the two economies,” economists Jun Du and Oleksandr Shepotylo said in the report.

The research, based on United Nations trade statistics, also indicates that the UK lost market share in China. 

“The combination of COVID, Brexit and the UK’s long-term productivity challenges will put British businesses in an adverse position for the foreseeable future,” the report said.

The United Kingdom’s relatively poor productivity has puzzled economies for years: explanations vary from poor employee skills and low research investment to demand-side factors such as the financial crisis. — Reuters

1...8,3908,3918,392...14,238Page 8,391 of 14,238
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube